Previous Next

Despite generally keeping to a regular line length throughout the poem, Thomas doesn’t maintain a regular meter. Instead, the meter varies on a line-by-line basis. To get a sense for the internal variation of meter, let’s look at the poem’s opening stanza (lines 1–9):

         And death | shall have | no do-min- | ion.
         Dead men | na-ked | they shall | be one
         With the man | in the wind | and the | west moon;
         When their bones | are picked clean | and the clean | bones gone,
         They shall have | stars at | el-bow | and foot;
         Though they | go mad | they shall | be sane,
         Though they sink | through the sea | they shall rise | a-gain;
         Though lo- | vers be lost | love shall | not;
         And death | shall have | no do-min-| ion.

A quick glance through the stanza reveals that no two lines have the same meter. It’s also evident that Thomas makes use of a wide range of metrical feet, including iambs (unstressed–stressed), trochees (stressed–unstressed), anapests (unstressed–unstressed–stressed), and dactyls (stressed–unstressed–unstressed). He even uses rare forms known as spondees (stressed–stressed) and pyrrhics (unstressed–unstressed). It’s also important to note that the analysis given above isn’t the only one possible. Other readers might interpret the stress pattern differently in some of the lines. For example, line 5 could also be analyzed as follows:

         They shall | have stars | at el- | bow and foot

Despite all this variation, it’s worth noting that most lines in the stanza feature a balance of two- and three-syllable feet, which gives the meter an overall sense of dynamism. The constant shifting of the meter may be said to mimic the oceanic imagery that appears throughout the poem.

Previous section Structure Next section Rhyme

Take a Study Break